Area 08 Vol. 2: The Journey Continues

Abraham Obama

2009

Artist Ron English travels across the country illegally putting up artwork of President Obama and Abraham Lincoln merged together.

Universal State of Mind

No synopsis available.

Style Wars

1984 · ★ 7.6

Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Art as a Weapon

2014 · ★ 6

Street art, creativity and revolution collide in this beautifully shot film about art’s ability to create change. The story opens on the politically charged Thailand/Burma border at the first school teaching street art as a form of non-violent struggle. The film follows two young girls (Romi & Yi-Yi) who have escaped 50 years of civil war in Burma to pursue an arts education in Thailand. Under the threat of imprisonment and torture, the girls use spray paint and stencils to create images in public spaces to let people know the truth behind Burma's transition toward "artificial democracy." Eighty-two hundred miles away, artist Shepard Fairey is painting a 30’ mural of a Burmese monk for the same reasons and in support of the students' struggle in Burma. As these stories are inter-cut, the film connects these seemingly unrelated characters around the concept of using art as a weapon for change.

The Writing on the Wall

1986 · ★ 7

"In this half-hour documentary, Producer Sandra King provides an intimate portrait of a public phenomenon: Graffiti. Over an 18 month period, King and her crew followed the teenage members of a graffiti 'crew,' Vandals on the Street, as they painted and rapped and moved through the streets of downtown Newark. What emerges is a unique glimpse behind the 'tags' at the kind of inner city kids who write on walls, but who also make art; who create out of wedlock children, but who also form binding relationships; who drop out of school and never read a book, but who create their own brand of poetry through the medium of 'rap.'

Graffiti Wars

2011 · ★ 6.4

A look at the feud between graffiti artists King Robbo and Banksy.

Graffiti in Berlin

2005

For three decades already a subculture marks the face of the capital. A purpose in life for those who write their names on rooftops, trains, bridges and houses. For others juvenile, delinquency or simply an eyesore.

Rocking '83 - Bear's Jam

1983

An incredible historic document showcasing the roots of Old School Hip Hop movement with all its disciplines involved: Djing, Mcing, Breakdancing, and Graffiti. Featured in the "NYC: Urban Image" show at MoMA PS1 1983.

KCBR - Live Life Like

2012

Swiss graffiti crew KCBR drops a video to company their book release.

Watching My Name Go By

1976

Watching My Name Go By is a 1976 BBC documentary on the birth of graffiti in New York City, and the fight to both prevent it, and expand it's artistic value. In 'Watching my name go by' kids in New York have a unique kind of occupation - sitting on the subway stations ' watching my name go by'. Eleven to 17-year olds compete to see how many times they can 'get their names up ' in a colorful way - a kind of graffiti cult game which has its own rules and regulations. It's illegal and dangerous-some New Yorkers think it's a kind of ' art others think it's disgusting.

Cope 2 Kings Destroy

1999

NYC Graffiti Documentary "Kings Destroy" straight from the boogie down Bronx and right into your living room, with guest appearances by KRS-1, FAT JOE, CASE II, SEEN, and many more...

Melbourne Ink

2009

The story of Melbourne's street art scene back in 2008. Starring the main characters of this artsy underworld, this short movie tries to understand the struggle of the artists, confronted to the illegality of their activity, but also to the growing demand of the public.